Welcome Home
by suzie2b
Summary: Tully was looking forward to a sweet welcome home when he returned from the Rat Patrol's latest mission. Sometimes things just don't go to plan.


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Welcome Home**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **Their mission successfully completed, the Rat Patrol stopped at a waterhole to replenish their water supply and refuel the jeeps before heading for their base in Ras Tanura. They were hoping to get home before sundown.**

 **Moffitt and Tully grabbed the jerry cans out of both jeeps to fill from the well, while Hitch went about gassing up the jeeps, and Troy stood watch.**

 **Tully was in a good mood. They would be home soon and he was looking forward to spending a little time in bed with his wife. Charley always had the best ways of welcoming him home after a long mission. She would scrub the sweat and grime off him as they showered together. There would be wine, food, and clean sheets … if they could get away with it they wouldn't have to leave the apartment for days.**

 **Moffitt saw the look on the private's face and smiled. "Thinking about Charley?"**

 **Tully smiled. "Yeah. We've been out on this assignment for a week. I'm looking forward to getting home."**

" **I don't blame you. It will be good to get back." Moffitt had started around the well to the other side when he came to sudden halt and called out, "Tully, stop! Don't move!"**

 **But it was too late. Tully put his foot down and there was a loud metallic snap. He immediately went down on his back and cried out in pain. Hitch dropped the gas can he had just capped and started to move quickly toward Tully with Troy close behind.**

 **Moffitt didn't dare move as he yelled, "No! Don't come any closer! The well is booby-trapped!"**

 **Troy and Hitch stopped and Troy said, "What is it, Moffitt?"**

" **Steel leg traps!"**

 **Troy made a wide circle around the well and saw what had alerted Moffitt. The carcass of a jackal with its leg caught in a trap had been picked clean by scavengers. He looked at his fellow sergeant and said, "Turn around carefully and follow your footprints back. You didn't find one the first time through, so you should be safe."**

 **Moffitt nodded and did as suggested.**

 **Hitch was on his knees trying to figure out a way to get to Tully. "Hey, sarge. Come look at this." Troy went back the way he'd come and knelt down next to the private, who pointed and said, "Someone has connected chains to the well."**

 **Troy frowned as he saw five steel chains affixed to eye bolts imbedded in the stone surrounding the well. "I bet each one is connected to a trap buried in the sand."**

" **How are we going to get to Tully?"**

 **Moffitt joined them. "I have an idea." He carefully followed Tully's footprints out to where the private was laying with one arm over his face. "Take it easy, Tully. Don't move." Moffitt then moved past him, keeping as close to Tully's body as he could without stepping on him. When he got to the trap, Moffitt knelt down and took the chain in one hand and gave it a shake, revealing its entire length.**

 **Tully groaned as his leg shifted slightly. He didn't look at the sergeant as he gasped out, "What're … you doin'?"**

 **Moffitt said quietly, "Stay very still, Tully." He then followed the chain to the well. He carefully sidestepped to the next eye bolt and did the same thing, revealing the chain and the trap it was connected to.**

 **Troy said, "Good work, Moffitt. Hitch, find something to spring those traps as he uncovers them."**

 **One by one the traps were disabled and they were finally able to get to Tully without worrying about getting caught themselves.**

 **Troy looked at Hitch. "Go stand watch. I don't want any more surprises."**

 **Hitch gave a nod. "Right, sarge."**

 **Troy and Moffitt knelt on either side of Tully and Troy moved the private's arm away from his face. His eyes were closed, but the grimace on his face told them he was awake. Troy said, "You with me, Tully?"**

 **He slowly opened his eyes and squinted at the two sergeants. "Hurts."**

 **Troy nodded and looked at Moffitt. "Any idea how to get it off his leg?"**

 **Moffitt shook his head. "I'm not familiar with this type of trap. The ones I've seen before have a type of key to open it."**

 **Tully struggled to sit up and Troy got behind him for support. Tully looked at the trap that had snapped shut around his foot and shin. He thought, "So much for my welcome home." Then he said, "I've seen ones like this before when my dad and I have been deer hunting in the mountains." Tully gritted his teeth and hissed as pain spasmed through his calf muscle. "There's a spring on each side. Pushing them down at the same time will release the jaws."**

 **Moffitt got to his feet and stood with each foot on a spring, putting all of his body weight on them. The trap began to open, but then the sand started to shift under it, not allowing further pressure on the springs. "The sand is too soft."**

 **Tully gasped as Moffitt let the jaws slowly close again and let his head fall back onto Troy's chest. "Easy, Tully. Easy." Troy looked at Moffitt. "What if we cut the chain? Then we can move him to solid ground."**

 **Tully shook his head and panted, "We don't have … anything that will … cut through a steel chain."**

 **Moffitt turned and looked at the well. "But we should be able to get the eye bolt out of the stone. I'll go get some tools."**

 **While he was going through Tully's toolbox, Hitch said, "There's two German halftracks headed this way! A few miles out!"**

 **Moffitt dropped the tools and grabbed the crowbar. He ran back to the well and started working on the eye bolt by placing the bar in it and turning it.**

 **Troy laid Tully down and went to check on the Germans progress. He hopped into the back of the other jeep and grabbed the binoculars. "They're taking their time. That means they don't know we're here. This scrub is keeping us hidden."**

 **Back at the well, Tully suddenly yelped in pain and said, "Sarge! Stop!"**

 **In his rush to free the private, Moffitt hadn't realized that turning the eye bolt was twisting the chain and it was now starting to pull painfully on the trap. "Sorry, Tully. I wasn't thinking." He started to pry the bolt out instead. Once it popped out of the stone, he called, "I need some help!"**

 **Troy and Hitch helped move Tully to the relative safety between the scrub and the jeeps. Tully grimaced and said, "Give me a gun, sarge. I don't want to sit here unarmed."**

 **Troy grabbed a machine gun out of its holster. "Just keep your head down."**

 **Moffitt said, "It's too late to run. What do you suggest?"**

" **I'm guessing they're going to pull in here. When they do we'll be able to take 'em out before they know we're here." Troy grabbed a second machine gun and put himself between the two jeeps. "Moffitt, you and Hitch man the 50s. Keep your heads down until they get by us. Then we'll let 'em have it."**

 **Tully painfully maneuvered himself onto his belly next to the jeep's front tire, where he could peer around it and fire his gun.**

 **The two German halftracks rolled nonchalantly into the waterhole. After the second one passed by the jeeps, Moffitt and Hitch sprang into action with the 50s while Troy and Tully used their machine guns, cutting down the German troops.**

 **Two of them jumped out of one of the vehicles to seek refuge behind the well, where they were quickly caught in the traps. A third, who had ducked down inside the halftrack after running out of ammunition, was waving a white handkerchief.**

 **Troy called for his men to hold their fire, then said, "Moffitt, tell whoever's in that halftrack to stand up with their hands in the air."**

 **Moffitt called, "Sie im Fahrzeug! Legen Sie Ihre Hände in die Luft und sie zu Ihren Füßen!"**

 **The soldier's hands were seen first, then he slowly stood up. They could hear the men by the well crying out for help.**

 **Troy said, "Keep us covered, Hitch." He and Moffitt cautiously walked around the two halftracks until they were sure there was no one else alive. "Moffitt, go check on those traps. Sounds like we caught a couple of live ones."**

 **Once they'd tied up the one soldier and were sure the other two weren't going anywhere, Hitch resumed watch while Troy and Moffitt again tried to get the trap off of Tully. Again they failed, leaving Tully gasping with pain.**

 **Moffitt reached into the jeep for a med kit. "The ground just isn't firm enough. The sand is too loose." He gave Tully a heavy dose of morphine. "I'm not willing to try again until we have some hard ground under us."**

 **Troy sighed. "We'd have to drive a good eighty kilometers to find that. Tully won't be able to handle that in a jeep with that trap on his leg."**

 **Hitch eyed one of the halftracks, thinking, then said, "Why not use one of those?"**

 **Troy glanced up at the private. "Use what?"**

" **One of the halftracks. The floor won't have any give to it."**

 **Moffitt nodded. "He's right. It'll give us just what we need to get Tully free."**

 **They cleared the dead bodies out of one of the halftracks and, as carefully as they possibly could, Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch got Tully into the back. Hitch supported Tully's back and Troy got ready to move Tully's leg when the jaws opened. On the count of three Moffitt stepped onto the springs and let his weight depress them. The trap slowly opened and Troy moved the leg out of its jaws.**

 **Thanks to the morphine Tully was unconscious soon after he was free and remained that way while Moffitt and Hitch did their best to clean and bandage the wounds.**

 **When they were finished, Moffitt said, "That's all we can do. We need to get him to a hospital."**

 **Troy nodded. "Hitch, disable these halftracks and the guns." He looked down at the German who was tied up and sitting on the sand below him. "Moffitt, tell him how to open the traps. We'll untie him just before we take off."**

 **Hitch asked, "We're not taking them in with us?"**

" **Nope. We need to move fast and I don't want to worry about prisoners along the way. They'll have water and we'll leave them with a working radio so they can call for help. All I want is to get Tully to a doctor."**

 **##############################**

 **The Rat Patrol pulled up in front of the medical building in Ras Tanura just after dark. They got Tully inside, where he was quickly whisked away for evaluation and treatment.**

 **As they walked outside, Troy said, "Moffitt, you and Hitch get the jeeps to the motor pool. Get them in for service. We'll resupply tomorrow."**

 **Moffitt nodded. "Where are you off to?"**

 **Troy sighed. "I'm going to go talk to Charley. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."**

 **After explaining what happened, Troy quickly walked Charley back to medical where they were informed that an x-ray showed hairline fractures to both Tully's tibia and foot. He was being prepared for surgery to clean and suture the puncture wounds caused by the trap's jaws. Nurse Lois told them, "Dr. Lewis said if Tully's foot hadn't partially blocked the jaws, things would be a lot worse."**

 **Morning came and Charley was sitting next to Tully's cot with her feet pulled up on the chair. She had one hand holding his and the other holding the book she was reading. Charley felt Tully's hand move and looked at him as his eyes opened. She smiled and said, "Good morning."**

 **Tully looked at her with a groggy smile. "Hi."**

 **Charley put the book aside and leaned down to kiss him, then whispered in his ear, "I love you."**

 **Tully pulled her into another kiss, then said quietly, "Love you too."**

 **Vicky walked up with a smile. "Okay you two. Cut it out."**

 **Charley giggled softly as she sat up. "He's awake."**

" **I can see that. How's your pain level?"**

 **Tully looked at the wrapped and elevated limb. "If I tell you I'm fine, will you believe me?"**

 **With a grin, Vicky said, "No."**

 **Tully smiled with a sigh. "Hurts some. My foot's throbbing. Don't really think I need any morphine though."**

" **How about I give you some codeine? It's not as strong as morphine. If you do well with it, the doctor may let you go home this afternoon."**

" **I'm all for that."**

 **Charley smiled. "You've got hairline fractures in your shin bone and foot. You do know what that means, don't you?"**

 **Tully made a face. "I hate crutches."**

" **I know, but you aren't going to be given a choice in the matter." Charley looked at her watch. "I gotta go make my deliveries." She kissed him, then said, "I expect to be able to sleep with you tonight, so behave yourself."**

 **##############################**

 **That afternoon Hitch delivered Charley and a slightly doped up Tully to the alley next to the café. Troy and Moffitt were waiting on the stairs as the threesome approached. They smiled as they watched Tully on his crutches. They knew that as long as Charley was in charge, Tully wouldn't argue about using them … complain, yes. Argue, no.**

 **Moffitt and Hitch helped Tully up the stairs behind Troy and Charley. Tully looked up at his wife's backside and said, "Nice view."**

 **Moffitt and Hitch tried unsuccessfully to stifle their laughter. Charley looked at Troy and said, "He gets a little 'funny' when he's on pain meds. Is he talking about you or me?"**

 **Inside the apartment Tully was deposited on the bed and Troy asked, "Can you handle him from here or do you need some help getting him into bed?"**

 **Before Charley could answer, Tully said, "No, she can get me into bed easy enough."**

 **Charley shook her head with a sigh. "I'm good, Sam…"**

" **You sure are."**

 **Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch laughed as Charley blushed.**

 **Moffitt grinned. "I think we'd better go before this conversation goes any farther."**

 **Charley showed them to the door. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help."**

 **Hitch smiled. "No problem. Let us know if you need anything."**

 **Charley closed and locked the door and turned back to her husband. "Now, as for you…" She stopped. Tully was on his back, sound asleep. She put her hands on her hips. "What am I going to do with you?" Charley managed, with some effort and a lot of cajoling to get him undressed and in under the covers with his leg elevated.**

 **Sweating and slightly out of breath, Charley sat on the edge of the bed. She looked at Tully's sweet, peaceful face as he slept and smiled. "Welcome home, lover."**


End file.
